by Sande Bashaija
Wandegeya
Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (Fuba) breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after Coca-Cola East and Central Africa, under their Sprite brand, announced a Shs125m sponsorship package for next week’s Zone 5 Championship.
“Basketball is a growing game in Uganda, which makes it relevant to us as a brand,” Coca-Cola East Africa brand manager Maggie Kigozi said during a press gathering held at YMCA Wandegeya, the main venue for the 10-day regional showpiece.
“We are determined to take the Zone 5 tournament to another level but let’s wait and see how this works out,” added Kigozi. Shs25m of the package will be handed over to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to cater for teams’ accommodation, feeding and transport.
The rest has been earmarked to publicise the event through media adverts, upgrading facilities and dressing all the teams. “We initially had a budget of Shs300m but scaled it down to cater for the essentials. Irrespective of the available resources, we are determined to host a very good tournament,” LOC chairman Bob Buga stated.
The championship, set to attract teams from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Ethiopia and hosts Uganda starts July 27. “Since Lugogo is unavailable, we shall have games at YMCA, Makerere and Namboole,” Buga announced.
Fuba president Ambrose Tashobya said he was looking ahead to cementing the partnership between his body and the soft drink manufacturers.
“We are dealing with people who are interested in developing the game. I am sure we won’t stop here,” he said.
DMark Power, Falcons, Warriors, KCC Leopards, A-1 Challenge and Kampala International University (KIU) are representing Uganda.